Manatee (Bradenton, FL) Rises To No. 1 In USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 National Football Rankings

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Manatee High School (Bradenton, FL), which won its season opener in commanding style on Sunday, is the nation's new No. 1 team in this week's USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 national high school editorial football rankings.

The full Super 25 rankings appear in today's print edition of USA TODAY Sports and are also available online at the newly re-launched USA TODAY High School Sports (www.usatodayhss.com).

The USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 is now in its 30^th year as the most prestigious high school ranking platform in the nation. Gatorade is the Official Fuel of the Super 25 rankings platform which includes computer rankings of every major high school football, baseball, boys and girls basketball and boys and girls lacrosse team in the nation.

Manatee, ranked No. 2 entering last week's games, got two sacks and two blocked punts—including one he returned for a touchdown—from DT Blake Keller to rout Miramar, 41-6, and take over the No. 1 spot in the Super 25 previously occupied by Miami (FL) Central.

Miami Central lost at then-No. 6 Grayson (Loganville, GA) on Friday, 35-3, due in part to three touchdown runs from Grayson's Robert Nkemdiche, a member of the American Family Insurance ALL-USA High School Football Team.

The win moved Grayson up to No. 3 in this week's Super 25 Rankings, while Miami Central slipped to No. 25.

Also making big moves this week are No. 9 Bellevue (WA), which beat former No. 18 Trinity (Euless, TX) 31-24 in overtime to move up from No. 15, and No. 10 Cass Technical (Detroit, MI), which moved up from No. 16 after getting five touchdowns—three passing, two running—from QB Jayru Campbell in a 56-0 shutout of Northwestern.

Allen (TX) makes its season debut in the Super 25 this week at No. 24 after shutting down previous No. 8 Carroll (Southlake, TX) 24-0.

Following is the complete listing of this week's  USA TODAY High School Sports high school football rankings as determined by USA TODAY Sports.

USA TODAY High School Sports High School Football Super 25
For Week of September 3, 2012

1. Manatee (Bradenton, FL), 1-0
2. De La Salle (Concord, CA), 1-0
3. Grayson (Loganville, GA), 2-0
4. Byrnes (Duncan, SC), 2-0
5. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), 2-0
6. John Curtis (River Ridge, LA), 1-0
7. Plant (Tampa, FL), 1-0
8. Booker T. Washington (Miami, FL), 1-0
9. Bellevue (WA), 1-0
10. Cass Technical (Detroit, MI), 2-0
11. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV), 2-0
12. Moeller (Cincinnati, OH), 2-0
13. Trinity (Louisville, KY), 2-0
14. Union (Tulsa, OK), 1-0
15. Katy (TX), 1-0
16. Eden Prairie (MN), 1-0
17. Lake Travis (Austin, TX), 1-0
18. Camden County (Kingsland, GA), 2-0
19. Good Counsel (Olney, MD), 1-1
20. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, CA), 1-0
21. Central Dauphin (Harrisburg, PA), 1-0
22. Butler (Matthews, NC), 2-0
23. Goose Creek (SC), 2-0
24. Allen (TX), 1-0
25. Miami (FL) Central, 0-1

Dropped out from last rankings: No. 8 Carroll (Southlake, TX); No. 18 Trinity (Euless, TX).

For more information on the Super 25, visit USA TODAY High School Sports.

The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across USA TODAY, as well as Gannett Co. Inc.'s 81 community newspaper properties and 23 broadcast television stations. It also includes the sports photography service U.S. Presswire, USA TODAY High School Sports and USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

SOURCE USA TODAY

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